Turmoil
by Crystal Forest
Summary: Sequel to Have Hope. After the events at the CDC, the survivors must move on. They are faced with new horrors and heartbreak, disappointments and sorrows. Will Serena leave the group? Will they find their lost friend? When they find themselves on a farm that could provide safety and security, will this be a new start? Or will it, like the CDC, prove to be too good to be true?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here it is, the first and second chapters of my second Walking Dead story, which will follow Serena and the group throughout season two!  
****I'm posting it a bit earlier than I thought I would (I had originally planned on the afternoon of the 17th) but the wait for the third will be a bit longer, since I haven't finished it yet. I got sick, and my brain didn't want to produce words. :( I hope to finish the third chapter and have it ready to publish this week, and have it up next week or so (that way I'll have at least one, maybe two other chapters ready so you can read one while I'm writing the other, if that makes any sense).  
****Anyway, these two should keep y'all busy for awhile, because this chapter I think is the longest one I've ever written! However, the second is pretty short, since it was more of a filler between the first and third chapters, stuff that is during the same time of the end of this chapter, but it was WAY too long already, so it became the second. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism welcome! :)**

**Have a happy St. Patrick's Day! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead, it's plot, or it's characters.  
I own only my OCs, Serena Sanders, and her brother, Ross Sanders.**

I watched as she helped them make arrangements to go out and look for the missing girl again.

She was methodically packing a backpack, inspecting a knife before putting it into the side pocket. The way the sun shimmered on her dark hair and shone on her tanned skin, she looked beautiful.

"I still think I should come with you," she said stubbornly, handing the backpack to Rick. "I could help."

"I know," Rick answered, slinging the pack across one shoulder. "We don't doubt that you can help, but I think it's best if you sit this one out. Like we talked about earlier, I need you to stay here, help Dale keep an eye on things." He gave her a meaningful look.

Serena's eyes went to T-Dog and she sighed. "Okay, but when you get back, I want to know everything." When he nodded and assured her that he would tell her all that happened, she looked at him imploringly and said with emphasis, "Everything. Don't leave out anything."

Rick chuckled and said with a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, we won't keep you in the dark."

Serena smiled back appreciatively before saying, "Y'all be careful out there. Bring Sophia back."

Rick nodded and went to give the backpack to his wife.

Daryl came up behind Serena and touched her on the shoulder to get her attention. She turned.

"Keep your eyes open," he said. "If another herd comes through, stay hidden til' they're gone"

Annoyance flashed in her eyes upon seeing him. "Is that what I'm supposed to do?" she asked sarcastically. "I thought I was supposed to stand out in the open and yell at them with a bullhorn."

Daryl glared. "Don't be stupid."

"Don't be such a jerk," Serena said, returning Daryl's glare.

"I wouldn' have to be if you weren't bein' such an idiot," he snapped.

I held back a laugh as I watched them bicker.

"You know what?" Serena said with a huff after a while, looking at him with a hurt expression. "There's no sense in arguing. We're wasting time better spent looking for Sophia. So get going and be careful."

Daryl looked at her for a moment, seeming as if he were going to say something. Instead, he just nodded once and left her to join the others.

The moment Daryl had turned his back, Serena closed her eyes tightly and ran a hand through her hair before going to sit beside Dale on the RV.

* * *

One Day Earlier

After we had left the CDC behind, we had stopped in a small town for the night, as far away as we knew there wouldn't be walkers swarming that might have possibly heard the blast when the CDC had exploded.

The next morning, we had taken stock of all the supplies we had, and gathered what we could from the nearby cars and buildings. We made the decision to leave behind some of our vehicles, since we were running low on fuel. T-Dog's van and Shane's Jeep were left behind. Daryl gave T-Dog his truck, while Daryl chose to ride Merle's motorcycle. But I suppose now it's Daryl's motorcycle.

We haven't given up on Merle, at least Daryl and I haven't, but at the moment, there just isn't anything that can be done. If we find him, we'll need a safe place to take him back to, and right now, we don't have a safe place. Rick mentioned something about trying for Fort Benning, so I guess that's what we're doing.  
However, we're still going to keep looking. We'll keep looking for signs of him, and I plan to spend a day or two of searching as soon as we're settled somewhere.

"Does everybody have all of their stuff packed?" Rick asked.

"We're all ready to head out," Shane replied.

When Dale gave the word, everyone got into their vehicles. I jumped into the back of the truck of T-Dog's truck.

"Wait a minute!" Daryl said, and T-Dog paused in starting up the truck. "Wanna ride with me?" Daryl asked me.

I raised a brow. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Thought you might want to."

I rested my elbow on the side of the truck and yawned. "Maybe some other time. I'm thinking of taking a small nap, and I don't think I could do that on a bike."

He nodded. "I was thinkin' of havin' a nap myself." He turned and looked back at the motorcycle. "But I guess that's out of the question."

"Unless you want to crash," I said.

He looked sideways at me in amusement. "How about we trade places? I'll take a nap, you drive."

"What's the hold up?" Shane said in annoyance, hanging out of the RV.

Ignoring Shane, I said, "I tell you what. The next time we stop, I'll swap places with you."

"Fair enough." Turning to Shane, who was still looking at us, he said, "Let's get goin'!"

"Have fun," I said, leaning back and closing my eyes.

"Have a nice nap," Daryl replied, in a mocking tone.

I laughed as we pulled out onto the road, but it faded, and I soon fell into a daze.

**X*X*X*X***

_"Ren, slow down before you fall!" Ross said, laughing, as I ran down the bank to the quarry._

_Pausing, I looked back to him. "Hurry up!" I giggled and continued my hurried pace in excitement. _

_I had waited for our annual First Day of Summer Camping Trip for almost three months. Ross finally got time off of work yesterday, and he decided that we could go camping this weekend._

_"I win!" I shouted when I reached the edge of the water first. I sat down on a rock and waited impatiently for him, watching him carry our fishing poles and tackle box with him._

_Ross set the tackle box down and laid the poles on the ground. He grinned. "Good for you, Ren-Ren."_

_"Don't call me Ren-Ren. I'm not seven anymore," I grumbled._

_"You're not?" he asked, pretending he didn't know. "Oh, yeah, that's right. You stopped being seven the day before yesterday."_

_I grinned proudly. "Yep! That means I'm almost a grown up!"_

_"Don't grow up too soon. Before I know it, you'll be graduating high school, going off to college, and have a boyfriend."_

_"No I won't!" I stood up objectively. "I hate school, so I don't wanna go to college, and I won't have a boyfriend, because boys are gross!"_

_Ross laughed loudly. "Keep thinking that way until you're forty." He got a worm out of the bucket and started baiting the hook of my pole._

_I cringed while I watched the hook go through one side of the worm and out of the other. "Does it hurt them when you do that?"_

_"I don't know," he said, then dangled what was left of it in front of my face. "Maybe you should ask him."_

_"Eww!" _

_He laughed again and handed me my pole, then baited his hook and got the boat into the water._

_I loved fishing and being out on the water, even if we didn't get any fish. I loved the warm sun and the cool breeze that blew across the lake._

_Mom and Dad never did anything this nice for me. Ross was the only person that cared._

_"Having fun yet?"_

_I nodded, watching the reflections of the clouds moving on the water._

_"You talked nonstop all the way here, now you're quiet," Ross said with some concern. "Are you okay?"_

_"I was just thinking."_

_"About what?"_

_"How come Mom and Dad was never nice to me?" I asked, holding back tears._

_Ross bit his lip and looked out across the water. "I don't know. They were never nice to me either."_

_I remembered some of the times I had overheard Ross and our parents fighting. "Why didn't you leave?"_

_He nudged my arm with his shoulder and said with a smile, "Because I could never have lived with myself if I'd left you behind. You're my baby sister. It's my job to look after you."_

_I hugged him tightly. "You're the best brother in the whole entire world," I mumbled. "Promise you'll never leave me by myself?"_

_He hugged me back just as tightly and kissed my head. "I promise."_

The truck slowing brought me back to reality. I opened my eyes and looked around.

There were cars on either side of us, on the sides of the road or in the lanes, those of which we went around carefully. Turning around, onto my knees, I looked through the window to see out of the windshield. Ahead of us were more cars, getting closer together as we got further. I leaned around the side of the truck toward the open window.

"Can we go on through, or is it blocked?"

"I can't tell yet," T-Dog responded.

Daryl rode on ahead to see if there was a way through, while the rest of us drove on slowly. Suddenly, a cloud of steam rose up from the front of the RV.

We stopped, and everyone got out and went up to the RV. I picked up a sword from beside me and jumped to the ground, tightening the belt around my waist as I went to join my friends, gathered around Dale.

"Can't find a radiator hose here," Shane was saying.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl said, who was now digging through the back of one of the cars.

"Siphon more fuel from these cars, for a start," agreed T-Dog, going to his truck to get an empty gas can and a hose.

"Some water?" asked Carol hopefully.

"Food?" Glenn added.

I hoped there would be both. We weren't exactly successful in our raid of the few small buildings early this morning, and we hadn't seen much of anything except for open road the past couple of hours.

"This is a graveyard."

At Lori's words, everyone looked around at each other and the cars with mixed expressions.

"I don't know how I feel about this," she added quietly.

"I get that," I said, looking at her in understanding. "But we have no food or water, and we're running low on fuel. There aren't any other options." I went over to a purple four-door Ford truck and, after checking that there wasn't anyone inside, opened the door and pulled out a suitcase from under the back seat.

"Come on, y'all," Shane said. "Just look around, gather what you can."

T-Dog walked ahead a ways with a gas can and a hose, while others joined in looking inside the cars for anything useful, and Dale instructed Glenn on how to fix the RV while keeping watch with Rick.

"We'll need clothes," I heard Carol say as I moved further ahead.

Carl and Sophia were making their way around some of the cars curiously.

"Carl," Lori said. When he turned, she instructed, "Always within my sight."

"You too, Sophia," Carol said.

The two children nodded and went on looking.

I glanced ahead of them for a moment before going back to the station wagon. Like Lori, I also wasn't sure how I felt about going through strangers' personal belongings, especially in that of which could only be described as, in Lori's words, a graveyard. I felt as if I were a grave robber, intruding on someone's final resting place. But I also knew that if we were going to fix the RV and get much-needed supplies, there wasn't any other choice.

Seeing a large woven basket with folded blankets in it, I took it out and set it on the ground beside me. I didn't see anything else that we could use besides clothes, which it appeared Carol had found plenty of by now, so I picked up the basket and put it in the pile of things Carol and Lori had found, then went to another car.

It was a nice one. Dark blue, small, nothing fancy, but it had a sunroof. I opened a door and found a purse abandoned in the passenger seat, some pennies and dimes in the cup holder, and a 'Hits of the '80's' CD case on the dashboard. In the back seat was small pile consisting of two heavy blankets and two pillows.

I popped the trunk. Inside, I didn't find much. Two overnight bags of clothes and toiletries. A cooler full of melted ice, now stagnant, and Ziploc bags with spoiled sandwiches, and four unopened bottles of water.

I took the bottles, closed the trunk, and set the bottles down on it.

I made to turn to another vehicle when Daryl came up behind me and whispered in a hurried tone, "Walkers. Hide."

Walkers? Wonderful. It must be more than a few, otherwise we would be taking them down, not hiding from them.

"Is everyone else hidden?" I asked urgently, looking back the way Daryl had come, seeing none of my friends. What I did see were the dead, shambling towards us. I crouched down, then I gasped, remembering. "T-Dog's still up there!"

I took a step to go get T-Dog, but Daryl held his arm out and blocked my path.

"Where?" he asked.

I pointed. "Up there."

"I'm goin' ahead. Hide," Daryl said, and hurried along quietly, staying low.

I started to get under the car, but it was too close to the ground. I wouldn't fit. My heart pounding, I dove into the car through the open passenger door, pulled it until it gave a quiet click, but not risking the noise of shutting it all the way, and scrambled into the back, into the floor. I grabbed a blanket and covered myself with it just in time.

I heard the walker's shuffling footsteps as they passed, the stench of their rotting flesh so strong I wanted to gag.

I peeked around the blanket carefully, looking through the back window, but I was unable to see anything except their shadows and an occasional glimpse of a head. I covered my face and gritted my teeth, waiting for all of them to be gone, and praying all of my friends were out of sight.

If one of us was seen, by even just one walker, all of them would attack. There would be no escape.

Seemingly an eternity later, the footsteps became fewer in number, and then I heard none at all.

I sat up a little, my sword digging into my hip uncomfortably, and looked first out the back window. It was clear, so I sat up fully and looked through the windshield. They were all making their way unhurriedly down the road, not a single one seeming remotely interested in its surroundings.

I waited three minutes before throwing the blanket off and crawling out of the car, staying low and quiet as a precaution, and picked my way back to the RV.

I saw Glenn and Shane, then Rick, Lori, Carol, and the kids under cars, all with relieved looks on their faces. Glancing up, I saw Dale on the roof of the RV.

"Where's Andrea?" I asked.

"Inside," Dale answered.

Sophia began making her way out from under the truck. I hurried forward to help her, and a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me roughly.

I stumbled, falling onto my back, and looking up into an unfamiliar woman's ravaged, snarling face. The walker bent down, and I kicked it in the stomach, knocking it over. I rolled up onto my feet and pulled out my knife to kill it, but Sophia's startled cries distracted me.

My eyes shot to her in alarm as a growling walker knelt and reached for her with a decaying hand.

"Serena!" Carl's frightened voice said in warning.

I kicked the walker in the face as it crawled, reaching for my ankle. The walker after Sophia was trying to get under the truck.

"Sophie, get out from the other side!" I said, driving my knife into the walker's skull when it spotted Carl.

Sophia's terrified screams ripped at my heart. I left my knife and pulled out my sword, killing three walkers. The walker that had tried to grab her got to its feet and went around the side of the truck, another walker following.

I groaned as three more walkers came from behind a van.

"I'll get Sophia, you take care of those!" Rick said as he ran to follow Sophia and her pursuers down the bank.

I killed the three walkers and looked back, thinking I should follow Rick and help, but they had disappeared in the woods, and I didn't know which way they'd went.

"Lori, there's two walkers after my baby!" Carol cried, running over and stopping at the guard rail, and covering her mouth in horror and sobbing.

Lori wrapped her arms around her, trying to calm her, while Carl went to his mother's side.

Dale, Andrea, Glenn, and Shane hurried over, looking to see what was happening.

I wiped the walkers' blood off of my sword on their clothes and put it back in its sheath.

"Should I go after them?" I asked Shane quietly.

He shook his head. "Just wait. Rick will bring her back."

"Hey!" Daryl called out behind us. "Somebody give me a hand!"

I looked up to see Daryl supporting T-Dog, who looked as if he were about to pass out, a huge gash on his forearm, blood streaming.

Shane hurried over and helped Daryl lead T-Dog over to the RV. T-Dog collapsed to the ground, and would have fallen over if Shane hadn't placed a hand on his shoulder and held him up.

Dale went inside the RV to get bandages. He came back out with a roll of gauze and electrical tape.

"This is the best I could find," he explained.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I was trying to hide," T-Dog gasped out. "Scraped it on a piece of metal."

While Dale and I did our best to stop the bleeding and patch up the wound, Shane filled Daryl in on what had occurred with Sophia and the few straggling walkers.

After dragging a dead walker out of the RV that Andrea had killed, I helped Dale get T-Dog inside and lay him down on the bed. He was groaning in pain.

"Do we have any medicine to give him?" All of them medical supplies I had stored in the old U-Haul back at our old camp had been taken when we were robbed in the middle of the night, thus prompting a continuous watch, but Dale had to have something, didn't he?

"I have some Ibuprofen and Tylenol," Dale said, going to the sink and pulling a box out from under the cabinet. "The Ibuprofen will help with the pain, swelling and infection."

"Should I stay here with him?"

"Me and Andrea'll keep an eye on him."

I went back outside and helped Daryl and Shane drag all the dead walkers away from the group, then went over and stood next to Carol with Lori, comforting her as much as possible.

Ten minutes later, Rick returned. Without Sophia.

Carol's gasping sobs were heartbreaking.

"Serena," Rick said, and gestured me over to his side, with Shane, Glenn, and Daryl.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"We're gonna go out and find Sophia," he said. "We want you to come and help."

I nodded and followed Rick's lead, back to where he had left Sophia to draw the walkers away from her.

It was a small, shady creek area. There was what was left of a fallen tree creating an overhang of mud and roots where Rick had told Sophia to hide.

Sophia was nowhere in sight.

"You sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked.

"I left her _right here_," Rick insisted. "I drew the walkers way off in that direction, up the creek." He pointed. "She was gone by the time I got back here. I figured she just took off back to the group." He pointed in another direction, one that would lead back to the highway. "I told her go that way, keep the sun on her left shoulder."

Glenn was standing in the area Rick had indicated, looking around as he listened to Rick.

"Hey, Short Round," Daryl said to him. "Would ya step off to one side? You're muckin' up the trail."

Glenn took a step back.

"The kid was tired and scared, man," Shane said to Rick. "She had a close call with two walkers. Gotta wonder how much of what you said stuck."

"Some of it must have," I said, spotting depressions in the mud.

Daryl looked to where I was pointing. "We got clear prints right here." He turned to Rick. "She did like you said, headed back to the highway. Let's spread out!"

I stepped back to allow Daryl room to pass as Shane gave first him, then Rick, a helping hand up the bank.

"We're gon' find her," Shane said reassuringly to Rick's stressed expression. "She's probably tuckered out, hidin' in a bush somewhere."

We followed Daryl as he followed Sophia's footprints into a grove of trees. Daryl stopped and kneeled, looking at the ground closely.

"Doing just fine 'til right here," he muttered.

We stepped closer to look at where he had indicated, Shane kneeling to get a closer look.

"All she had to do was keep going," Daryl continued. "She veered off that way." He pointed over to where the trees thickened.

"Why would she do that?" Glenn asked.

"Maybe she saw something?" Shane suggested.

"Walker?"

Daryl shook his head. "I don't see any other footprints. Just hers."

"So what do we do?" Shane asked. He looked up at Rick. "All of us press on?"

"No," Rick answered decidedly. "Better if you, Glenn, and Serena get back up to the highway. People are gonna start panicking."

_Worse than they already are? _I thought, but I stayed silent. I didn't really want to go back. I felt that I should keep looking, but it was Rick's call.

Shane got to his feet.

"Let them know that we're on her trail, and doing everything we can," Rick instructed. "But most of all, keep everybody calm."

"I'll keep 'em busy scavenging cars," Shane said, nodding. "think up a few other chores. "I'll keep 'em occupied."

"Keeping them occupied is the easy part," I said. "Telling Carol that we still haven't found her daughter is going to be the hard part."

"That's where you come in," Shane said to me. "You were always good with the kids. Carol trusts you."

That may have been true yesterday, but I wasn't sure how much she trusted me now.

Shane and Glenn began on the way back to the road, but I paused and turned back to Rick. "Don't beat yourself up. This ain't your fault. If blame falls on anyone, it falls on me."

Back on the highway, breaking the news to Carol that we didn't find Sophia yet was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

Lori was still sitting beside Carol when I found her. Shane had disappeared to talk to Dale. Glenn sat in the doorway of the RV, watching me and Carol nervously.

"Carol," I said gently, getting her attention.

She didn't ask whether we had found her or not. She must have seen it in my face, because disappointment filled her eyes, and she shut them tightly.

I kneeled in front of her, continuing speaking in gentle tones.

"Daryl found her footprints. Sophia seemed to have followed Rick's instructions for a while, but something made her go off the path. Rick sent me, Glenn, and Shane back, to keep an eye on things, while he and Daryl keep looking."

Carol hanged her head, shaking with silent sobs.

"Don't worry, Carol," I said softly. "We'll find her."

I sat with her awhile, Lori having gone to talk to Shane.

"Serena!" Andrea yelled to me. "Can you give us a hand?"

I looked at Carol, but she waved me away.

"You don't have to sit with me. I'll be fine. I'm just going to go over here and wait for them to get back." She stood and went over to the guard rail.

While we waited, I helped with the chores. Not that I had a choice. I would have helped anyway, but Shane was like a slave driver.

We cleared some of the cars off the road to make a path through, found what other supplies we could from the cars, and now were carrying it over to a pile near the Winnebago.

"We're not going anywhere 'til my daughter gets back," Carol was saying to Dale and Shane.

"That goes without saying," Lori told her.

"Rick and Daryl are on it, okay?" Shane said in a comforting way. "It's just a matter of time."

"Soon they'll be back with Sophia, and we can get off this highway," I said.

Carol nodded and went back to staring at the woods worriedly.

"Can't be soon enough for me," Andrea said, sipping from a bottle of water. "I'm still freaked out by that herd that passed by. Or whatever you'd call it."

"What was that? All of them just marching along like that?" Glenn asked.

"Herd," Shane mused. "That sounds about right. Like that wandering pack that attacked camp that night, only fewer."

"Herd, pack, swarm," I said, naming off a few things that could describe it. "Whatever it was, I don't wanna see another one."

"Me either," Glenn agreed.

"Well," Shane put in. "We still have a lot of work to do, so let's get on it."

Glenn sighed, wiping sweat from his brow. "We couldn't take a longer break?"

"We're burnin' daylight!" Shane called back to him.

"Hey." I nudged Glenn with my elbow jokingly in an attempt to ease the tension. "As soon as the work that obviously needs to be done is finished, go help Dale keep watch. Eyebrows can't keep a three-sixty view on everything at all times."

He chuckled. "'Eyebrows?"'

I shrugged. "I thought it would be a good nickname, but that first day was too soon. It would have been viewed as an insult."

"What would your nickname be?"

"That's for you guys to decide."

"Less talkin', more workin'!" Shane said to us.

An hour later, with everything sorted, and enough cars moved, I found the little dark blue car that I had seen the '80's music CD in. Luckily, the CD was in it's case, so I put it on the seat of T-Dog's truck, intending to play it later.

"How's the radiator hose coming along?" I asked Dale.

"Pretty good," Dale answered.

"How's T-Dog?"

"Not much better. He's asleep now."

Dale was focused intently on getting the hose fixed, so I thought I would go, instead of bothering him.

Somehow Shane kept finding things for us to do, so I didn't get to rest but a few minutes.

As I worked, I kept glancing up at the woodline, waiting for Rick, Daryl, and Sophia. Work was no longer keeping me occupied, and I was anxious, especially with night less than thirty minutes away.

After an orange glow had settled over us, I saw them walking up the bank, back onto the road. Sophia wasn't with them.

My throat tight, I went over to hear what they had to say.

"You didn't find her?" Carol asked, crestfallen.

"Her trail went cold," Rick said wearily as he stepped over the guard rail. "We're gonna pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own, to spend the night, alone, in the woods," she sobbed.

"Huntin' in the dark's no good," Daryl said. "We'd just be trippin' over ourselves. More people'd get lost."

"She's twelve! She can't be out there on her own!"

Sophia is out there by herself, with hardly any knowledge of how one would go about taking care of oneself if they became lost in the woods. My heart going out to Carol and Sophia, I wanted to cry.

"You didn't find anything?" she inquired of Rick.

Rick put up his hands in a soothing manner. "I know this is hard, but I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there."

"We tracked her for a while," Daryl put in.

Rick turned to the rest of us. "We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this."

Carol looked away, processing what Rick and Daryl had said. Her eyes landed on Daryl. "Is that... Is that blood?"

I looked at him closer and saw what Carol had seen.

Daryl looked down at himself and then back up, first to Carol, then everyone else, seeming unsure how to answer.

"We took down a walker," Rick said for him.

Carol's breathing was becoming heavy. "Walker," she choked out, her voice fragile. She looked light-headed and as if she were about to faint.

I stepped closer to her in concern, ready to catch her if needed.

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia," Rick went on in that same calm, soothing tone.

"How can you be sure?" I asked, the same time Andrea said, "How can you know that?"

Rick and Daryl shared a reluctant glance before Daryl answered.

"We cut it open. Made sure."

At this, Carol sat down on the guard rail, trying to steady her breathing for a moment, then turned accusingly to Rick. "How could you just leave her out there to begin with?" She turned her gaze on me. "And how could you not kill those walkers when you had the chance? You could have prevented this from happening!"

Shamefaced, I looked to the ground. "I know." Looking back up at her, I added, "I'm sorry."  
I didn't know what else to say.

"How could you just leave her?" Carol said mournfully to Rick, ignoring me and my apology.

I felt an arm fall on my shoulders, and I looked up into Glenn's eyes, which were comforting and without blame.

"Those two walkers were on us. I had to draw 'em off." Rick leaned down to Carol. "It was her best chance."

Shane came up beside Rick. "It sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol."

"How is she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child."

Rick knelt in front of her. "It was the only choice I could make." His voice cracked with emotion.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that," Shane said.

"My little girl, left in the woods." Carol seemed lost, disconnected.

Heartbroken, disappointed, and worried, everyone appeared as if they were frozen momentarily before slowly going back to what they had been doing. Glenn squeezed my shoulders and followed Dale. Andrea sat next to Carol, and she and Lori did their best to comfort her and assure her Sophia would be alright. Rick got up and walked away, down the road. Carl stood still, crying, and so I went over and pulled him into a hug.

Carl wrapped his arms around my waist and sobbed.

"Shh, we're gonna find her," I whispered, closing my eyes tightly. "She'll be okay."

**X*X*X*X***

After a small meal, everyone drifted to bed, Dale continuing to keep watch.

I sat atop the little dark blue car, my knees pulled up to my chest, arms around them, my glazed eyes on the stars. Crickets were chirping, a soft breeze blowing. In other circumstances I would have found the calm and stillness relaxing.

My mind hadn't stopped whirling since the herd. I had thought so many 'I wish's' in the past half hour;

'I wish I had gotten over there sooner.'

'I wish I had seen those walkers.'

'I wish I had killed them quicker.'

'I wish I had followed Rick.'

The list went on.

How could I ever make this up to Carol? I was right there, dang it!

I had visualized so many scenes in my head of how the situation would have gone over better.

I should have drawn my sword sooner and killed the walkers. Sophia would never have run off into the woods. She would still be with the group.

I balled my fists, filled with a strong desire to break something.

I slid down from the hood of the car and briskly walked, aimlessly, down the road.

Ten minutes later I stopped, breathing heavily. I fell to my knees, resting my hands on the cold asphalt, gasping, tears falling to the ground.

_'I will do _everything_ I can to ensure that no harm comes to any of you_.'

My words that night at camp came back, hitting me like a blow to the gut.

How many more times would that promise be broken?

First Merle, now Sophia. How many more?

* * *

"Where'd she go?" Daryl asked, agitated.

Dale pointed. "I didn't see her when she left. The last time I saw her, she was sitting on that car over there." Daryl looked to the one Dale had indicated. "The next thing I know, she's halfway down the road."

"You don't know why she'd've left?"

Dale shook his head. "She's been upset all day. Since the walkers."

Dale didn't have to say that it was when Sophia had run off for Daryl to know the cause of Serena's stress. She was an emotional woman. She either bottled it up, or, when it got to be too much, she let it out in unpredictable ways.

Daryl had witnessed only one occasion in which Serena didn't try to hide her feelings, and that was when their camp had been attacked. It had been uncomfortable for him; going to her aid, taking her away from all the onlookers, and sitting with her until she stopped crying.

It had been uncomfortable because he wasn't sure what he should do. It had been uncomfortable because Serena, who didn't let anyone see her cry, had asked him to stay with her, even going so far as to admitting that she was afraid she would fall apart if he didn't. Why did she trust him?

More importantly, why did he trust her? He didn't trust people easily, if at all, but he had trusted her since the first day at camp.

"It's been a stressful day for all of us. She's probably out there upset," Dale mused above him, interrupting the turn Daryl's thoughts had taken. "For all we know, she's still walking."

After today and all of the emotions flying around, and Serena blaming herself for Sophia's disappearance, along with Carol snapping at her, for all they knew, she could either be out there trashing cars in a rage, or bawling her eyes out.

"Should we go find her?" Dale asked.

Daryl sighed, frustrated. "Stupid woman," he muttered. To Dale he said, "I'll go get her."

* * *

Footsteps caught my attention, so I pulled out my knife and peered into the mess of cars.

"Do you have any idea how dumb you are, coming all the way out here?" Daryl turned sideways to squeeze between two cars.

I nodded, putting my knife back into my boot. "I know it was dumb, but I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"That kinda stuff can get you killed y'know," he said, leaning against a car across from me after making sure there wasn't anything inside it.

With a small shrug, I turned away from him.

"Sophia runnin' off wasn't your fault," he said suddenly. His tone was soft and careful.

"It was, and everyone knows it," I insisted.

"Dale told me what happened. There were more than the two walkers. There was eight. You were fightin' 'em on your own. We're lucky the both of you didn't get bit."

"I should have moved faster. If I hadn't been so slow-"

"Do you believe she's alive?" he interrupted.

"Absolutely," I answered, without hesitation.

"Do you believe we're gonna find her?"

"Of course I do."

Daryl stepped over to me and bent down to look me in the eye. "Then quit stressin' out so much. She's out there, we'll find her, and she's gonna be just fine."

I turned my head. "I should have done better."

Daryl grabbed my chin and made me look at him. He said strictly, "Don't blame yourself anymore. When you look at everything that happened, it's whoever made that virus's fault. If they hadn't done that and started this, then she wouldn't be missin'. Right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I mumbled, trapped in his stern gaze.

"The herd couldn't have been prevented, but the virus could have been." At the end, his voice became harsh and angry.

I was startled by how sudden his anger was, but I knew he was right. What shocked me most was that he didn't blame me.

Daryl suddenly let go of my chin and took a step back, his expression unreadable. "It's best if you get back to the group. Dale's worried."

"Why?"

"Because he's Dale."

"Then I guess it's best if I get back to the group."

He half-smiled. "Smartest thing you've said all day."

On our way back, we went silently. I had no idea how far I had walked. I was surprised Daryl had found me.

I stepped carefully around an overturned van. I knew I wouldn't get any sleep tonight. I was having a hard time staying focused whenever I no longer had a distraction.

But at that moment, there was a distraction that got both mine and Daryl's attention.

Glass crunched and cracked, and we came to a halt. A heavy, rattling gasp brought our eyes to a dark shape in the shadow of that overturned van.

Daryl brought up his crossbow.

"Please, don't shoot," a man's voice pleaded hurriedly.

My eyes widened. I froze in shock, and Daryl tensed beside me.

Whoever that figure in the dark was, he was alive.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. **

The stranger came out of the shadows and into the soft light cast by the moon.

"Please, don't shoot," he begged again.

"Stay back," Daryl warned, keeping his crossbow aimed carefully at the stranger's head.

I stepped forward cautiously, raising my knife in preparation of using it if needed. I peered at him closely.

He had short, light blonde hair, was as tall as Rick, and muscular. He didn't look to be much older than thirty. He was wearing tattered army pants and a white t-shirt, now almost brown from dirt, grime, and sweat.

"Do you have any weapons?" I asked.

The man wordlessly took a backpack from his shoulders and dropped it to the ground, then unbuckled a gun belt from his waist and dropped it onto the pack.

"That's all I have," he said.

I knew I couldn't be entirely sure of that, so I stayed back, sliding his pack and gun belt to me with my foot.

"Are you bit?"

He shook his head and leaned against the van.

"What's your name?"

"Adam. Adam Weathers."

"Well, Adam Weathers, I have some news for you," Daryl said gruffly. "You have five seconds to get gone, before I put an arrow through your head."

"Daryl, this man may need help!" I reprimanded.

"He could also be plannin' on tryin' to rob us."

It was a possibility, but I didn't want to just turn Adam away. If he was going to try to do us any harm, we could handle him. He was only one person, how much harm could he do?

"Before we send him off, let's talk to Dale, see what he thinks," I said in a reasonable tone.

"I think we'd be better off just makin' him go now."

The whole time, Daryl hadn't once taken his eyes off of Adam or relax his grip on his crossbow.

Adam looked to us pleadingly. "Please, I've been on my feet for a long time. I barely escaped from all of those _things _that went by earlier today." His voice was weak with exhaustion. "I don't have anywhere to go. I'm by myself. I don't have any food or water."

"You're in luck," said Daryl sardonically. "We don't, either."

Desperation came into Adam's eyes. "Please," he said again. "Just for the night. I'll leave first thing tomorrow."

"Daryl," I urged.

Daryl exhaled loudly through his nose. "Fine," he said, lowering his crossbow. "_Fine._" He then said in an undertone, "Anything happens, anything goes missin', it's on you."

I carried Adam's weapons and pack, leading the way.

Adam followed behind me. Daryl went last, keeping a watchful eye on Adam.

"There you are," came Dale's relieved voice from above us. "I was starting to get worried." His eyes fell on Adam. "Who's he?"

I told Adam to sit on the ground by the front tire of the RV, then looked up to answer Dale.

"His name's Adam Weathers. He says he has nowhere to go. No food or water. He needs a place to stay for the night."

Dale looked at Adam closely for a minute. "Do you have any weapons on you?"

"I gave them all to her," Adam answered, pointing at me.

"Toss 'em up," Dale said.

I tossed first the pack, then, carefully, the gun belt.

Dale set them down beside him. "Do you see that car over there?" Dale said to Adam.

Adam looked, then nodded.

"There's a blanket in there. You can sleep in the car, which I would advise in case we need to get out of sight in a hurry. We'll talk to Rick about this in the morning." The last was aimed to me.

After Adam had gotten inside the car, Dale came down from the RV and stood in front of me and Daryl.

"Who's bright idea was it to bring a stranger back with you?"

"Do you have to ask?" Daryl said with a heavy sigh, then gestured to me with his thumb.

"Care to explain?" Dale's tone was like that of a scolding parent.

I told him everything that had happened out there in the past ten minutes.

"That was considerate of you," Dale said slowly. "I'm not upset," he said quickly, holding up his hands when I raised my brows. "All I'm saying is, you need to be careful about bringing people into camp that we don't know. You just don't know how people are going to behave in times like this." His eyes shot to where Adam was. "However, if he has no food or water, he'll probably pass out tomorrow from the heat. Maybe-"

"You've gotta be kiddin' me!" Daryl exclaimed, interrupting Dale. "You can't seriously think that this is a good idea?"

"A good idea, not entirely. The right idea, yes."

Daryl turned away, frustrated, then came back over to us. "We don't know who this guy is. We can't trust him!"

I folded my arms, my eyes narrowed. "He could die out there with no supplies."

"So?"

"You wouldn't want to have a man's blood on your hands, would you?"

He shrugged. "Wouldn' be the first time."

My mouth opened in shock, but I closed it quickly. Whatever he was talking about, it wasn't important right now.

"We can't trust him," Daryl repeated, before I could say anything. "We don't know him."

My hands on my hips, I said angrily, "I didn't know you, but I still let you in my camp. That took trust."

"Your camp?"

"It was mine before you showed up!"

A hurt look came into his eyes, but it was gone so quickly I wondered if I had imagined it.

"Maybe we should've never went to _your _camp in the first place," he spat. "Things would've been a heck of a lot easier without you around."

My heart dropped. His words stung, badly, and it felt as if a lightning bolt shot through my heart. "What's that supposed to mean?" I hissed.

"It means," he growled, "that you're the most infuriatin' person I've ever met! And you're dumb for bringin' him into camp. What if he tries to kill us in our sleep? What if somebody gets hurt? That'd be on you! Then you'd be walkin' around here, unfocused, puttin' all of our lives in danger!" He looked me up and down, and added spitefully, "And with you bein' the emotional mess you are all the time, I'd really hate to be forced to spend another minute with you anyway!"

"I could say the same about you!" I shot back.

Dale, taken aback by our argument, had stayed silent, shocked out of it by Daryl's last statement. He looked back and forth between us as we silently glared at each other.

Daryl finally turned around, walked away as fast as he could, found a car to sleep in, and slammed the door shut.

I turned my back to him and bit my lip.

_It's not the worst thing anyone's ever said, _I thought, willing myself not to cry over a few harsh words.

But if it's not the worst that's ever been said to me, then why did it hurt so bad? That look he gave me? The things he said?

"Hey," Dale said quietly. "He didn't mean any of that. It's been a long day, we're all a bit cranky and on edge."

"I didn't mean to make it sound like I regret you guys coming to the quarry," I apologised.

"I know." He laid a hand on my shoulder. "But he doesn't. Be the bigger person and apologize to him tomorrow."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Now get some sleep. If you're going to look for Sophia with them tomorrow, you're gonna need all the rest you can get." He gently pushed me to the RV and told me to go inside.

I sat at the table and looked out the window, staring blankly.

I felt absolutely terrible for the things I had said. I resolved to tell Daryl I was sorry, first thing tomorrow.

Even though he most likely wouldn't apologize for what he had said, I wanted him to know that I didn't not want him around.

Did he not want me around? I wondered. I really thought for a while there that we were becoming friends. If he said all of that, over something so small as a disagreement on trusting Adam, maybe it was pent-up dislike of me.

Maybe we weren't becoming friends, I thought as I drifted to sleep. Maybe it was all in my head, and he didn't want to be around me after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So sorry for the long wait! Thanks to those who favorited and followed, and to FireRebel for the review! Hope you guys like the chapter!**

**Diclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. **

The next morning, just as the first light of dawn cast its glow on the highway, everyone woke up. Yawning and stretching, they came out and looked around. When their eyes landed on Adam, who was sitting on a car, lacing up his boots, they all stared at him curiously.

To avoid any harsh questions, I hurriedly told Rick who Adam was and how he came to be in our camp.

"I wonder if he may have seen Sophia," Rick said after I had finished speaking.

"He was weak and tired," I replied. "so I didn't ask. But I don't think he would have. He came from the opposite side of the road."

"It wouldn't hurt anything to ask," he said, and went over to Adam.

Rick introduced himself, and Adam did likewise. They shook hands briefly, then Rick placed his hands on his sides and proceeded to ask Adam questions.

Choosing to ignore them, I lingered by the RV.

"He's still here?" Daryl asked as he approached, shooting Adam dirty looks.

"He is," I answered.

My eyes on the ground, I started to apologize for my part of what had happened last night. I had been thinking about what to say since I woke up, but I couldn't make the words come out.

Daryl folded his arms. "When's he leavin'?"

I shrugged, distracted, having barely heard him. "No idea."

"What's your problem?"

"I don't have one."

I wanted so badly to apologize, but the way he had looked at me last night when he spoke, with so much anger, made its way back into my head, and with it, that same hurt that I had felt sitting in the RV at the table, staring out the window.

He turned and looked at me closely. "Why're you bein' so short?"

Holding back tears, I met his gaze evenly. "I would just hate to cause you any discomfort at being forced to spend any of your time around me," I said flatly, doing my best to hide the hurt that threatened to make its self known.

Daryl raised a brow, looking at me strangely. "What're you talkin' about?"

I shook my head. "Nothing, forget it. I have work to do."

He grabbed my shoulder before I could walk away. "Now, wait a minute," he commanded.

Before he could say anything else, Rick called out to me and gestured me over. Daryl let me go.

Immediately after I stopped in front of him, Rick began giving me instructions.

"There's too much to do to make any decision on whether or not Adam joins our group, so I've decided to just let him stay for now. At least until we get back. I want you to start packing some backpacks, and as soon as everyone's ate something, we're gonna go out and look for Sophia."

"Who are you taking with you?" I asked.

Rick answered quickly. "You, Dale, T-Dog, Adam, and Carl are staying here."

"Why am I staying?" I protested. "I can help!"

"Serena-"

"It's my fault she's out there, I should be helping you find her!"

"Rena-"

"Why not have someone else hang back?" I knew I sounded whiny, but at the moment, I didn't care.

"Will you let me answer this time?" he asked as soon as I had fallen silent.

I huffed and nodded.

"Daryl is the best at tracking, so he has to go. I need Shane, to help me look after everyone since so many are going out. And we need plenty of people out there; the more eyes, the better. Carol especially needs to go. If we find Sophia, Carol should be there for her." He paused and made sure I was following. "We can't take T-Dog, since he's still in bad shape, so we need somebody to look after him. Dale can't keep an eye on the road, Carl, T-Dog, and Adam by himself, so I want you to stay. I trust you to help look after everyone and everything, keep things safe while we're gone."

After several moments, during which Rick looked at me expectantly, the sense of what he had said sank in.

He was right.

"Alright," I said, dejected. "I'll go pack the bags."

"Thank you," Rick said, appearing relieved that I wasn't going to argue anymore.

X*X*X*X*

After a meager breakfast, Rick gathered everyone together and unrolled the arsenal Carl had found in one of the trucks yesterday.

"Everybody takes a weapon," he said.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need," Andrea complained. "What about the guns?"

"We've been over that," Shane said. "Only Rick and I are carrying. We don't need people poppin' off rounds every time a tree rustles."

I rolled my eyes, still frustrated with him that he had demanded my guns earlier. I was able to forgive him for it though, because he had made no move to take my bow, knives or swords.

"It's not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea responded.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. Then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it," Shane said harshly.

I turned my eyes back to my work, pretending I hadn't heard anything. It was best if I stayed out of this.

"The idea's to take the creek, about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side," Daryl instructed, as if nothing had happened. "Chances are, she'll be by the creek. That's her only landmark."

"Stay quiet, and stay sharp," Rick added. "Keep space between you, but always stay within sight of each other."

"Serena's assembling your packs," Shane said to them, while Rick went over to talk to Dale, Lori and Carl trailing behind him.

"I'm just about finished," I said, adding a finished pack to the pile. "I have one more to do."

I was packing a backpack for Lori, adding a few of the packets of granola and water bottles we had found to it. Picking up a knife, I slid it out of its sheath and checked to make sure it was sharp and clean of rust before putting it into the side pocket.

When Andrea went over to get her gun from Dale, I wished that there was somewhere I could go without being noticed. Having to listen to her argue with him made me uncomfortable.

Dale put his hands up. "Andrea, I'm begging you, don't put me in this position."

"I'm not going out there without my gun," Andrea said stubbornly. "I'll even say please."

Dale shook his head. "I'm doing this for you."

"No Dale, you're doing it for you. You need to stop," she argued. "What do you think's gonna happen? I'm gonna stick it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?"

"I know you're angry at me, that much is clear," Dale said softly. "But if I hadn't done what I did, you'd be dead now."

"Jenner gave us an option. I chose to stay."

"You chose suicide!"

"So? What's it to you?" She snapped. "You barely know me."

"I know Amy's death devastated you."

"Keep her out of this. This is not about Amy, this is about us. And if I decided I had nothing left to live for, who are you to tell me otherwise?" Her voice broke. "To force my hand like that?"

Andrea looked at Dale angrily, waiting for his response.

"I saved your life," he said, stunned.

"No, Dale, I saved yours! You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands, and that is the _only _reason I left that building. What did you expect? That I had some kind of epiphany? Some life-affirming catharsis?"

"Maybe just a little gratitude," Dale answered.

"'Gratitude?'" Andrea repeated. "I wanted to die _my _way. Not torn apart by drooling freaks. That was _my _choice. You took that away from me, Dale."

"But-"

"But you know better," she interrupted. "All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless, horrific nightmare we live every day," Andrea went on. "I wasn't hurting anyone else. You took my choice away, Dale. And you expect _gratitude_?"

Everyone looked at the two of them in uncomfortable silence, some of them sadly.

I internally flinched, knowing that her words had cut Dale to the core.

"I don't know what to say," Dale responded.

"I'm not your little girl. I'm not your wife, and I'm sure as heck not your problem. That's all there is to say." With that, she went over to wait with Shane and the others, which included Carl, who had managed to persuade Rick into letting him go with them.

Dale watched her go, a mix of emotions on his face.

Rick came over to me to get Lori's pack, providing me with a much-needed distraction from the emotions flying around, if only for a few moments.

"I still think I should come with you," I said to him, handing him the pack. "I could help."

"I know," Rick said, taking the pack and slinging it across one shoulder. "We don't doubt that you can help, but I think it's best if you sit this one out. Like we talked about earlier, I need you to stay here, help Dale keep an eye on things." He looked at me meaningfully.

I glanced up to T-Dog, who was sitting on the step of the RV. If another herd were to come through, Dale may need help getting T-Dog hidden away quietly, and as badly as I felt about Sophia, I would feel twenty times worse if anyone were harmed because of me being too stubborn to stay and help. I sighed, resigned.

"Okay, but when you get back, I want to know everything."

Rick nodded and assured me that he would tell me everything that happened.

For emphasis, I implored, "Everything. Don't leave out anything."

Rick chuckled. He placed a hand on my shoulder, gave me a small smile, and said, "Don't worry, we won't keep you in the dark."

I smiled back in appreciation and said, "Y'all be careful out there. Bring Sophia back."

Rick nodded and went to give the backpack to Lori, where she was standing with the others, waiting on Rick.

I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see Daryl.

My heart clenched while at the same time my pulse raced in anger. I quickly hid my anger before he could see it.

"Keep your eyes open," he said. "If another herd comes through, stay hidden 'til they're gone."

I was confused by why he should care what happens now, when last night he seemed to not care at all. Even though I had chosen to just forget the whole thing, I couldn't stop the unbidden words or the sarcasm that colored my tone.

"Is that what I'm supposed to do?" I asked. "I thought I was supposed to stand out in the open and yell at them with a bullhorn."

Daryl glared at me. "Don't be stupid."

Unable to keep back the reason for my anger, I said with a glare, "Don't be such a jerk."

"I wouldn' have to be if you weren't bein' such an idiot," he snapped.

"I don't get it. What do you have against helping people?"

"Why do you have to be so trustin' of people that could kill you?"

I folded my arms. "Because I don't make it a point to turn away everyone that asks for a safe place to stay."

"You're gonna regret that when somebody you let in camp kills ya in your sleep!"

I started to answer when the sensible part of my brain told me that this pointless bickering was getting us nowhere.

"You know what?" I huffed, unfolding my arms, anger gone. I didn't even try to mask the hurt I felt. "There's no sense in arguing. We're wasting time better spent looking for Sophia." I swallowed thickly. "So get going and be careful."

He took a step back, a strange look in his eyes. He stared at me for a second, almost as if he were going to say something. Another second later, he just nodded once and left to join Rick and the others, where he led them around the cars and off the road.

I squeezed my eyes shut, tired of my confused feelings. One second I wanted to apologize, another I was still hurt by what he had said and wanted to cry, and the next I was angry with him.

I ran a hand through my hair, lightning bolts of emotion shooting through me, and went to join Dale on top of the RV.

"Sorry about all of that," I said to Adam as I passed him. "You shouldn't have had to see that."

Adam held his hands out as if to say "no big deal."

"Still arguing?" Dale asked when I climbed over the edge of the roof and sat near him.

"I guess you could say that," I mumbled. "Are you okay?"

Dale waved away my question. "I'm fine. Did you tell him you were sorry?"

"I couldn't. The words wouldn't go any further than sticking on my tongue like glue." I pulled my knees up to my chest and watched my friends enter the woods, where they disappeared out of sight.

"There's still time to catch up to him," Dale suggested.

I shook my head. "Daryl is _beyond _ticked at me right now," I said. "And lately, I've been thinking that maybe he even hates me, never liked me at all."

Dale slid off his chair and sat down beside me. "He may be mad, but I know for a fact he doesn't hate you."

"How?"

"Because if he hated you, I would have been the one to go looking for you last night, not him."

"Wait," I said slowly. "Are you saying that Daryl _volunteered _to look for me?"

"You could put it that way."

Unsure of what to think of this, I changed the subject. "What do you make of Adam?" I whispered as my eyes landed on him. "Was I wrong to bring him into camp?"

"I wouldn't say it was a bad thing. It's good that you helped him. We just need to keep an eye on him, just to be safe."

"I agree," I said. "But part of me wants to trust him."

"Talk to him, get to know him. That's the best way to find out if he's trustworthy." Dale patted me on the shoulder twice, then rose and went back to his chair. "Don't forget to talk to Daryl when they get back."

X*X*X*X

As the sun continued to climb, so did the temperature. Heat waves rolled off of the road, and the faded surfaces of the cars were now so hot, they were untouchable. The inside was no better. In fact, it was worse. They were so humid, being in the sun was preferable to the humid interior of the vehicles.

Sitting with our backs leaned against a car, in one of the few places that was still in shadow and had not yet been touched by the sun, I had been talking with Adam, having taken Dale's advice to get to know him.

I discovered that he had lived in New Hampshire most of his life. In his late teens, his family had relocated to Chicago, due to his father being in the military. When his father retired, they moved back to New Hampshire. Adam however, being twenty-three years old, had decided to follow in his father's footsteps and enlist in the U.S. army, and had went to Texas.

"Did you ever go overseas?" I asked in interest.

Adam nodded. "It was nerve-wracking at first, but when I got there, I met a guy that promised he would have my back." He paused to take a drink of water. "We became good friends. We would even pull a few pranks on some of the other soldiers. The pranks were harmless, of course," he added quickly. Then said, with his eyes downcast, "It's a real shame he was killed."

Knowing what that felt like, my heart went out to him in sympathy. "What was his name?" I asked quietly.

"Ross." Adam took another drink of water. "Ross Sanders."

I gasped, my mouth agape. Astonished, I couldn't speak for several moments. All I could do was stare at Adam.

"What is it?" he asked. "Did you know him?"

"Know him?" My voice was strained. "He was my brother."

Adam's eyes widened, and it was his turn to stare in shock. "You're Rena?" I nodded. "He talked about you all the time."

"I can't say that surprises me. I used to talk about him a lot too."

"Used to?"

I crossed my legs, pulling them away from the slowly approaching line of sunlight.

"I didn't take it so well when I got the news," I explained softly.

Adam nodded. "I understand. I'm sorry. I know what that must have done to you. Would you rather I change the subject?"

"Kind of."

"Okay. Ask me another question."

I wiped the sweat from my face on my t-shirt. "What brought you to Atlanta?"

After some hesitation he said, "I was sent back to the States when I got a bad injury in an accident."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," I said. "Would I be out of line if I asked about it?"

Adam gave me a small grin. "Not at all."

"Okay." I shuffled a bit. "What happened?"

Adam held up his left arm. "I broke my arm. I guess shattered would be a better word." He then gestured to his legs. "I broke my right leg, fractured my left. Shattered both kneecaps."

"That's awful!" I exclaimed. "How did you get injuries like that?"

He shrugged. "I don't remember. It's all a blur."

A sudden breeze tossed my hair around my face. I reached up and gathered it together.

"You should leave it loose," Adam said.

I laughed. "It's a mess."

"It's beautiful."

I laughed again and looked sideways at him. His eyes, chocolate-brown and full of warmth, rested on me. Shy and serious. Nervously awaiting my response.

I looked away, blushing. "Thank you," I murmured. I cleared my throat. "You uh, you never said how you ended up in Atlanta."

"Oh, that's right. Ross used to talk a lot about it here. Not as much as he would talk about you, though." Adam chuckled. "He said the summers were pretty brutal, but that it was a nice place to live. The way he spoke about it, he eventually made me want to see what it was like." Adam half-shrugged. "After they sent me home, once I recuperated enough, I decided to come here for a while."

"How long ago was that?"

"Nine years ago. I liked it so much, I never went back home, except for holidays, my parents' birthdays, and the occasional visit several times a year."

"That's interesting. That you've been in Atlanta so long, I mean." I pulled a rubber band from my pocket and pulled my hair into a messy ponytail.

"How long have you lived here?" Adam asked.

"Since I was four."

"I can't believe I've never seen you around!"

"Same to you."

He laughed. "I guess I just haven't been looking in the right places."

"Do you know Harry's Sporting Goods?"

Adam nodded. "I used to go there all the time."

"Really? So did I." I reached for my water, wishing the breeze would come back. "I still can't believe we never met then. You know Tom had my graduation picture hanging behind the counter? Did you ever see it?"

He shook his head. "I don't think I did. Otherwise I would have recognized you."

T-Dog's suddenly raised voice startled me, and I looked over at him and Dale, sitting on the ground in the shade the RV now provided. Dale was trying to quiet T-Dog.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," Dale assured. "It's all under control."

I could tell there was something wrong, and it obviously concerned T-Dog's condition. Not wanting to get T-Dog upset, I decided I would ask Dale later, when I could speak to him privately.

"Is that your dad?" Adam asked.

"No," I answered. "I was on my own when everything started. They came to the quarry where I had made my camp, looking for a safe place to make one of their own."

"So you didn't know any of them before?"

I shook my head. "I had met Daryl once, when I was at 'Harry's' one day. Other than that, I didn't know any of them."

"Is Daryl always so rude and mean?"

"He isn't always like that," I said, in Daryl's defense. It wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't a lie, either. "He's just mad for some reason."

"He's mad because he didn't want me here, isn't he?"

Yes.

"Sort of," I said instead, carefully. "There are a lot of safety risks. Glenn was kidnapped while they were on a run once. Daryl knows that we can't trust everyone that we meet based on their word alone. He's just trying to keep us safe."

"You care about him." It wasn't a question. Adam said it as though he knew. Almost like he had read my mind.

Or my journal.

_The heat is making you crazy, _I told myself, pushing the thought away. _There's no way he did that, my journal is still in my bag, in T-Dog's truck. _

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Well," Adam replied, as though it were completely obvious. "You looked pretty upset this morning after you and Daryl argued, like you've never argued before then. Second, you didn't say anything negative about him. And third, you automatically defended him." He smiled. "It's clear you two are close."

I guess when you put it that way, maybe it was obvious.

"I do care about him," I said. Then, to clarify that I didn't mean romantically, I said "He's a great friend to have." I blurted out in honesty, "But you were wrong about one thing. We have argued one other time before. Last night."

"About what?"

"Nothing to worry about," I said, getting to my feet. Let's go find some more shade."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to all of you that have favorited/followed and reviewed. Sorry for how long it's been since the last update! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. **

"I couldn't find any medicine," I told Dale as I took a seat beside him.

"Figures," Dale muttered. "In this sea of cars, you can find just about anything you'd need. How is it there's no first aid?"

I shrugged. Dale seemed to be talking to himself, but I answered anyway. "I suppose while people were panicking and in such a hurry to leave, they didn't think to pack any."

"That's what's wrong with some people. They don't _think." _Dale shook his head. "What if something like this had happened to them? What would they do without medicine?"

Dale was frustrated. I couldn't blame him. I was frustrated too.

Between him, Adam and me, we had looked through nearly a hundred cars, going as far as we could without going out of sight of the RV in search of medicine for T-Dog. T-Dog's wound had become infected, and he was in bad shape. During most of the day he had been delirious.

Dale had informed me that this morning, when I had heard T-Dog's raised voice, he had been talking about leaving, without the rest of the group. Unless we could find something better than penicillin, T-Dog would get worse, and after what we've gone through this week, I didn't want to think about the worst case scenario.

"Maybe I could get one of these cars running and find a store," Adam offered.

"Absolutely not," I said immediately. "It's too dangerous."

"I'm capable of taking care of myself."

I held up a hand. "Please, don't make an argument out of this. I've had enough of those for a while." I dropped my hand back into my lap. "The reason I say it's too dangerous is because you need to build your strength up. Without having any food or water for a while, in this heat, you'd be asking for a sun stroke. Also, we can't afford to have anyone leave right now."

"Besides," Dale added. "You'll probably get stuck somewhere on the highway, just like up here."

"It wouldn't hurt anything to try," Adam persisted.

I admired that Adam wanted to find help for T-Dog, but still... "We may need you here if something happens." I stretched my legs and my knees popped. "And plus, if they find Sophia, as soon as they get back, we're gonna be packing up to go. You'd be left behind."

"I'll just have to find you again."

"It's getting dark. You don't want to be left out there at night. Let's wait on Rick and everyone to get back before we make any hasty decisions." I kept my tone light but stern."T-Dog will be okay til then." I looked at Adam steadily.

Adam chewed his lip. He turned his gaze to T-Dog, leaning against the RV, a water bottle in his hands, a blanket around his shoulders; to Dale, who half-shrugged.

"Don't look at me, kid. I agree with her," Dale said.

Adam's eyes flicked back to me. He nodded and stayed silent.

"Now the question is: when will they get back?" I said, to no one in particular, looking up at the pink sky.

"You won't have to wait too long," Dale said as he stood, looking toward the treeline.

I looked up, and sure enough, they were back. Glenn was hurrying up the hill, while the others came along behind him more slowly.

I noticed the urgency and panic in Glenn's face. "Something's wrong," I said, a feeling of dread settling in my stomach.

As he would in any emergency, Dale picked up his rifle.

My first thought was that they had found Sophia and she was hurt. Then I saw that not everyone was there. Rick, Shane, Lori, and Carl were gone. Unless Sophia was with Rick, she was still missing. A look at Carol's downcast eyes confirmed it was the latter.

I took a deep breath and went to stand near the guard rail to meet them.

"Carl's been shot!" Glenn called to us when he got within earshot. My stomach dropped and my throat tightened.

"'Shot?!" Dale repeated, walking over to him as he climbed over the guard rail. "What do you mean, he was shot?"

"I don't know, Dale," Glenn answered, out of breath. "I wasn't there. All I know is that this chick rode up out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." He took in a deep breath. "Can you get me some water?" he asked me.

I nodded and went to the shady interior of the RV and got a bottle, taking it out to him.

"Thanks," he said.

"You let her?" Dale asked Daryl when he approached.

Daryl grumbled something to Dale that I couldn't hear.

"Rick sent her," Daryl went on gruffly. "She knew Lori's and Carl's names." He went to the Winnebago, setting down his crossbow and getting some water, then sitting on the ground.

Andrea and Carol came over, both of them looking exhausted.

"I heard screams earlier. Was that you?" Dale asked Andrea.

She walked passed him, not saying a word.

"She got attacked by a walker," Glenn explained. "It was a close call."

"Andrea, are you all right?" Dale called to her in concern.

Andrea paused at the door of the RV and turned. Silently, she gave Dale a look and shook her head, and went inside.

I went over to Dale and put a hand on his shoulder.

"She's probably still in shock," I said comfortingly. Shock and anger were two completely different things, but I didn't know what else to say.

Dale put his arm around my shoulders in a one-armed hug. "Don't worry about me." He patted my back and whispered, "Start working on that apology," and gave me a gentle shove to where Daryl was still sitting, his knees pulled up, leaning his head against the Winnebago, his eyes closed. I knew that, despite this, he was still listening to everything going on.

"I will," I said, in a low voice. "Later, when everything's calmed down."

X*X*X*X*

After Glenn had rested for a while, we stood around the RV as he told us everything that had happened while they were looking for Sophia.

While they were in the woods, they had found a tent, but the only thing that had been inside was a dead man. They had heard church bells ringing in the distance. With the possibility of it being Sophia, they followed the sound until they found the church. It's only occupants were three walkers. There was no steeple, and they found out that the sound of bells had been coming from a speaker, set on a timer. At the church is where they decided to split up, with the plan that they could cover more ground. Daryl was to lead them back toward the highway, while Rick and Shane would search the surrounding woods some more. Carl had went with Rick and Shane. On their way back, Lori had said she had heard a gunshot, which must have been when the accident had happened. Not too much time later was when Andrea got attacked by a walker.

"That's when the Zorro chick came in," Glenn said.

She had saved Andrea from the walker by hitting it with a baseball bat, briefly explained that Carl had been shot and Rick had sent her, told them where to find her dad's farm, and left with Lori.

"We should get T-Dog to that farm," Adam said.

"Who invited _you _to this discussion?" Daryl said hatefully.

_At least he didn't disagree, _I thought.

"Adam's right," Dale said. "If they're taking care of Carl, they must have a doctor."

"So what's the plan?" Adam asked Dale, ignoring Daryl's piercing glare.

"We pack up and go to the farm."

"I won't do it," Carol said, shaking her head. "We can't just leave."

"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak."

"What if Sophia comes back and we aren't here?" Carol looked at each of us. She must have seen doubt in someone's eyes, because she added, "It could happen."

"If Sophia were to come back and we were gone, that would be awful," Andrea said.

I nodded in agreement. "She would be in even more danger up here, where she'd be in the open, than she is out there, with the trees and bushes for cover."

Daryl was nodding, wheels turning. "We gotta plan for this. Lets say tomorrow's soon enough to pull up the stakes. We'll rig up a big sign an' leave her some supplies." Carol smiled at him appreciatively. "I'll hold here tonight and stay with the RV."

"If the RV's staying then I am, too." Dale said.

Carol smiled at them. "Thank you. Thank you both."

"I'm in," Andrea said.

"Me too," I said.

"Well, if you guys are all staying then -" Glenn started, but Dale cut him off.

"No, you're going. Take Carol's Cherokee."

Glenn huffed. "Why is it always me?"

"You have to find this farm."

"You _are _the best at finding things," I said, with a smile of encouragement..

"Exactly," Dale said. "You need to find the farm, reconnect with our people, and find out what's going on. But most important, you have to get T-Dog there. That is not an option."

T-Dog was at the back of the RV, sitting on the bumper, still wrapped in a blanket.

"That cut has gone from bad to worse," Dale went on. "He has a _very serious _blood infection. You have to see if they have any antibiotics. If not, T-Dog will die, no joke."

Daryl suddenly turned and went to his motorcycle. He picked up a rag and shot a look of annoyance in Dale's direction, then opened the saddlebag. He pulled out a Ziploc bag and came back.

"Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle," he said, throwing it at Dale, then set the bag on the roof of a car.

"What's that?" I asked, looking at the assortment of orange pill bottles.

"Merle's stash," Daryl said.

He dug around, reading the labels, putting aside certain ones, including crystal meth. Where did Merle get stuff like this? And how did he manage to keep it hidden from everyone, especially Shane?

Daryl threw a bottle of painkillers to Glenn. Digging around some more, he pulled out another bottle.

"Doxycycline," he read, and gave the bottle to Dale.

Dale caught it and looked at Daryl questioningly.

"Merle got the clap on occasion," Daryl said, going to put the bag away.

Dale grinned, looking at the bottle, then glanced to T-Dog. Unscrewing the cap, he went over to him.

"I never thought I'd say this," Andrea said, "but thank goodness Merle was such a dog."

I chuckled. "Yeah. If he weren't, we wouldn't have one of the best antibiotics on the market." I smiled and added, "Thank goodness for Merle's clap!"

Daryl had put the bag back and was walking toward me and Andrea. "Y'all best watch how y'all talk about my brother," he said, but I caught his small amused smile as he sat down.

"By the way Daryl," Dale threw over his shoulder. "Serena needs to talk to you."

Daryl raised his eyebrows, his eyes flicking toward me for a second. "Talk to me about what?"

Dale didn't answer. As soon as Daryl looked at me, Dale grinned fleetingly. I held back a growl of frustration.

"Talk to me about what?" Daryl repeated.

I sighed. Instead of answering, I said, "You feel like helping me hunt down something to eat?"

Daryl shrugged and picked up his crossbow, stood, and motioned for me to lead the way.

"Stay near Dale, and don't leave sight of the RV," I told Adam.

"Okay," he answered. "Watch your step out there."

I nodded and went to Glenn. "You need me to help you get anything together before you go?"

Glenn shook his head. "No, but thanks anyway. I'm not taking anything." He looked around at everyone. "It feels so weird, being split up like this."

"I know." I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "We'll all be together again tomorrow though." I pulled back. "Be careful, Scout."

Glenn smiled. "I will."

"Are we goin' to find food or what?" Daryl said, not unkindly, tapping his foot against a car tire impatiently.

"I'm coming," I said. "Just give me a minute."

"Try tellin' that to the sun."

I sighed when I realised how dark it was getting. I got my bow and arrows and strapped a sword to my waist. I waved to Glenn and went to Daryl's side. "How good is your night vision?"

"Good enough. We'll bring a flashlight, just in case."

Andrea tossed me a flashlight and I put it in my pocket. "We won't be gone no more than an hour," I told Dale, then, with another gesture from Daryl, I led the way down the hill.


End file.
